The second in Alexander Sokurov's teratology of films concerning twentieth century dictators, Taurus is a poetic and partially factual film of the last days of Russian revolutionary, Vladimir Ulyanov 'Lenin'.
Holed up in the country and cared for by a determined doctor, his wife and a group of uniformed guardsmen, Lenin muses over his life with the ambiguity and vagueness of the old man that he is. With moments of extreme clarity and ramblings both poetic and pathetic, he unwittingly illuminates the state of contemporary Russia (and beyond?) and questions how man negotiates his place in the world.
Such themes are consistent with Sokurov's other works, as is the strong visual rendering of the land. The white flowering fields where Lenin and his wife are placed for a picnic are particularly gorgeous. This and other whites (gowns and soft window lighting) provide impressionistic support to the murky greens that filter the entire picture. It's as if Lenin is a sunken ship filmed in the murky depths; his life, mind and political power slipping away.
Thus whilst based on 'the facts', the film is ghostly and partially hypnotic. The story's historicism is played against a firm mysticism, exemplified by the film title and the fact Lenin was indeed, born a Taurus. The motif of the storm that crackles in the background and hangs in the grey fog provides another point of reference. The coming storm is made of electricity, says Lenin, not the result of angels fighting in heaven, as his mother once thought. But the storm that lies on the verge of breaking at the film's end is an inevitable consequence, betraying the actual historical events to come. So when the character's dialogue defers from the mystical in this way, our interpretation of the details becomes interesting and confounding. The film plays with particulars, but maintains the thick symbolism.
Taurus's other messages of humanism and dictatorship are however, not entirely profound. Lenin's wife reads of torture when meaning to read of Marx's comfortable last days. She does so to a Lenin equally separate from the less comfortable circumstances of his 'comrades'. The point is pursued elsewhere, but still, such readings of communism are hardly new. More convincing is the portrayal of a Lenin subject to the same struggles and political games, as he loses touch with his friends and enemies. Taurus is perhaps then, partially, a sign of what is written in the language of the stars, but also the sacred bull, sacrificed to appease the Gods.
Loenid Mozgovoi who plays Lenin, introduced the film as one for the person who reads long books and goes to art galleries. Such warnings suggest depth but also possible boredom. Taurus is however, best regarded as an enchanting visual treat, but a treat bound up with symbolism and uncertain themes. One can chose to read this sub-text or ignore it, but the physical images, with their gorgeous lights and colours, more than carry the film.
Reviewed by William Fowler
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